Bachelor of Science in Nursing

Health care continues to evolve, and the training of its workforce must evolve with it. If you want to begin or advance your career in nursing, we offer one of three pathways to earn an accredited BSN degree, depending on your educational and professional background:

• The Generic BSN is a four-year bachelor's degree program in Stephenville for students who are not licensed as nurses. The pre-licensure program qualifies you to apply for licensure as a registered nurse and to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN®).
• The RN to BSN degree program is for registered nurses who have an associate degree and want to earn a bachelor's degree. Starting courses every eight weeks, this flexible post-licensure program is online with experiential learning and practicum components, so you can enroll full-time or part-time and be done in 10 to 15 months.
• The LVN to BSN program is for licensed vocational nurses who have completed a vocational nursing program and want to earn a bachelor's degree. One of only seven programs of its kind at a public university in Texas, most LVN programs are only one-year non-degree programs, our post-licensure bachelor's degree program for LVNs helps you earn a BSN in about two years. You will also qualify to apply for licensure as a registered nurse and take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN®). This program is based out of our location in Waco, Texas.

What is Nursing?

Nursing promotes health, prevents illness and disease and provides care in health care and community settings. Working with a team of health care professionals, nurses save and improve lives by delivering patient care through assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation and evaluation. Nursing is a professional career that provides a lifetime of opportunities in all aspects of health care. Nursing is more than a job; it is a profession. Nurses have been considered the most trusted career professionals for over 15 years.

The nation is continuing to experience a nursing shortage. As the health care industry works to recruit higher level practitioners, an accredited BSN degree is an entryway into an advanced career in nursing and can help you prepare for graduate school.

Why Major in Nursing?

Our nursing school is housed in the College of Health Sciences and Human Services, providing a rich interdisciplinary education and environment. As a nursing major, you will be prepared to compete for jobs in health care and to be a life-long contributor to the nursing profession.

Learn in classroom, lab, clinical and community settings

Our accredited BSN degree program prepares you for working with patients in the classroom, skills lab and simulation hospital. Then travel to several clinical sites, from rural to urban, during the program. Field sites for hands-on experience include hospitals, physician offices, clinics, nursing homes and other health care-related sites throughout Texas or near your hometown.

Complete an externship for additional clinical experience

Through collaborations with hospital systems throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, our undergraduate nursing students can participate in an intensive, paid, summer externship while in nursing school. This opportunity offers first-hand learning in a clinical setting with a potential future employer — and it pays really well.

Get guidance from highly experienced registered nurses

We know first-hand what it takes to succeed in today’s health care industry, and we share our experience, skills and passion with our nursing students. All of our faculty have master’s degrees, and many also hold doctoral degrees. Our areas of specialty include student transformative learning, reduction of student anxiety and stressors, job embeddedness, pesticide exposure and education needs of nurses.

Accreditations

• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
• Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education

What Can You Do With Your Bachelor's Degree in Nursing?

Tarleton has an outstanding reputation in the community and among our practice partners, who are impressed by our nursing students, bedside care, performance and critical-thinking skills. Most of our BSN graduates accept job offers before graduation, and their first nurse job is typically in a hospital. Nurses can work in a variety of settings, though, including nursing care facilities, social service agencies, birth centers, correctional facilities, government health departments and agencies, schools, travel companies, call centers, pharmaceutical companies and more.

Some of our graduates have also earned placements with post-graduate residency programs in hospitals to gain further practical experience in a clinical specialty area. Residencies also offer mentorship with preceptors, research opportunities, advance preferred employment, extended orientation and more.

Careers in Nursing

90% of nursing majors accept a job offer within three months of graduation.

How Much Do Nursing Graduates Make?

New BSN graduates earn $46,000 to $65,000 per year, plus benefits, depending on the job location and hours worked. Many employers also offer sign-on bonuses and other forms of compensation such as loan repayment.

What Classes Will You Take as a BSN Major?

With an emphasis on community health and family care, our accredited BSN degree programs offer a broad depth of care and experience. You’ll develop real-world, problem-solving skills using the latest technologies in nursing education. Courses are carefully planned to allow you to make meaningful connections with faculty and peers. As an accredited BSN degree program, our curriculum meets industry standards while delivering a high-quality nursing education.

Upper-level course electives add to the breadth and depth of knowledge related to issues impacting the nursing profession. Choose from topics such as genetics, virology, histology, child development, criminology, forensic science, food and culture, sports nutrition, transcultural nursing, rural sociology and gender in society — just to name a few.